Nintendo chief apologises to 3DS early adopters

Mr Iwata writes to first wave of 3DS gamers

In something of a surprising move, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has issued a written an open apology to the first wave of Nintendo 3DS buyers, following the recent hardware price cut.

Iwata has published an online letter to early adopters, claiming that the new global price cut is something of a "drastic step" for his company.

Customers may feel betrayed

The Nintendo president understands that his customers "may feel betrayed" and adds that there is "nothing [Nintendo] can do to completely make up for the feeling that you are being punished for buying the system early."

"In the past, there have been price drops for videogame systems some time after their release in order to broaden the userbase further," he writes. "However, never before has Nintendo chosen to issue such a dramatic price drop less than six months after a system's release.

"We are all too keenly aware that those of you who supported us by purchasing the 3DS in the beginning may feel betrayed and criticise this decision.

"This unprecedented timing for a price cut is because the situation has changed greatly since we originally launched the 3DS. We decided it was necessary to take this drastic step in order to ensure that large numbers of users will continue to enjoy the 3DS in future."

Iwata continues: "If the software creators and those on the retail side are not confident that the 3DS is a worthy successor to the DS and will achieve a similarly broad [userbase], it will be impossible for it to gain popularity, [and] acquire a wide range of software.

"Those customers who purchased the 3DS at the beginning are extremely important to us. We know that there is nothing we can do to completely make up for the feeling that you are being punished for buying the system early."

In Iwata's own words, Nintendo feels "a strong responsibility to develop the 3DS as a platform - to ensure that, in the end, everyone is satisfied - and we will make every effort to do so."